Cadences, Turnarounds and Endings

In this post I’m going to discuss some types of cadences and turnarounds. Cadences are a topic that comes up for my first year foundation Understanding Music Theory students (as well as for many others), and this will acts as a resource to demonstrate the four types of cadence they need to know. However I’m adding a lot of other cadences, endings, turnarounds and historic chord sequences that aren’t necessary to know for the module, and are just interesting to me as a composer.

So what is a cadence? A cadence is at least two chords that are used to conclude a phrase or section within a piece of a music, normally harmonising a melody. During the common practise period in Western Europe cadences were hugely important to composers to delineate sections and add a sense of gravity to pieces. In contemporary music cadences aren’t as crucial, especially as a great deal of 20th and 21st century pop/rock/EDM and hip hop is more loop based.

From the 20th century onwards, the harmonic syntax or blues and jazz was being codified and turnarounds were becoming ingrained into the musical language. These are one, two or four bar progressions that ended a cycle, either a head, bridge, twelve bar blues or other micro structure. The idea of the turnaround was not only to signpost the form the listeners but also navigate the tonality back towards the opening chords.

I don’t want to debate the rights and wrongs of teaching Western music theory here, this is not the best platform for it. There is a strong argument that many of the cadences (and turnarounds) aren’t hugely applicable for many types of loop based music. Phillip Tagg has written extensively on this subject and I support his work and research. If you’re interested in the subject there’s a link to his paper here or there’s a slightly more digestible blog by Ethan Hein here.

Something else I want to make clear is that I’m only going to discuss harmonic cadences – cadences can also be implied by rhythm and melody, and this contributes hugely to how a phrase or section completes. Many of these cadences need to be understood within a phrase and in relation to a tonic. Identifying two chords with progression would not necessarily qualify as a cadence – they need to be understood within context in order to correctly identify them.

Roman Numerals

In order to discuss cadences without referring to a specific scale it’s useful to use roman numerals to label chords within a scale. There are two types of scales we’ll be discussing today: the major and the minor scale. In some examples we’ll mention certain modes but for the main body of discussion just he major and minor scale is fine.

Each of these scales have seven discrete pitches in them. Each scale degree can be numbered one to seven and each scale degree can have a chord built upon that. Though other systems exists, Roman numerals are by far the most common way of identifying a chord’s function or place within a scale without being explicit about the key.

In the major scale we denote the scale degrees one to seven: I ii iii IV V vi viiø. The capital letter indicate the chord is major and the lowercase ones indicate the chord is minor. The ø symbol for chord seven indicates the chord is diminished (or half diminished to be more specific) – a chord with both a minor third and flattened fifth degree.

In the minor scale we label the chords i iiø bIII, iv, v, bVI, bVI. Notice that not only are the order of major and minor chords different but also scale degrees three, six and seven have a flat symbol proceeding them. This is because compared to the major scale these scale degrees are lowered by one semitones. Let’s quickly compare C major and C minor just using regular numbers:

Once we start harmonising these scale tones diatonically with thirds we can see and hear the difference between how the scale work.

If you want to read more about diatonic harmony you can click here.

Finished Cadences

There are two groups we can fit the main cadences in to, finished and unfinished. Finished cadences end on the tonic chord (chord I). They are comparable to a full stop in a sentence, adding a degree of finality to a phrase or section – at least in the paradigm of western tonal music. Without wanting to repeat myself – this is just my own hearing of these concepts and there are absolutely circumstance where these cadences might sound different due to metrical placement, melody or other contexts.

Perfect Cadence

The perfect cadence is a sequence that ends with V I in a major or V i in a minor key. There are some specific voice leading or inversions of either chord that can lead to a cadence being labelled as authentic or inauthentic but I wont differentiate here. You can read more about this on the wiki. Chord V can often be replaced by V7, as this add an additional voice that resolves in chord I. Here are three perfect cadences, V I and V7 I in C major and V7 i in C minor:

It’s important to note the B (leading tone) in the G chords resolves to the C (tonic) in the C chord. This is central to a perfect cadence. Sometimes this resolution can be elongated or prolonged by use of a suspension – where by the major third in chord V can be replaced by a major second or perfect fourth. The minor 7th (the 7 in G7) can add further attraction to the tonic as it resolves down to the major third of chord one. While the B in G7 would resolve up to the C in C major (pink), the F resolves down to the E of C major (green).

There are too many examples of V I in music to detail a comprehensive list but we can clearly hear one at the end of the chorus (0.28) in I Want to Hold your Hand by The Beatles. In the key of G we’re treated to a IV V I vi before ending the chorus with a IV V I. Purists might argue the melody descends from the supertonic to the tonic (A to G) so this isn’t the clearest demonstration (as it avoids the leading tone), but for rock/pop this isn’t bad.

Ethan Hein has written about V7-I cadences as harmonic whiteness which is not a position I completely agree with but it’s interesting and well argued observation. For balance here is someone who disagrees with Ethan’s claim.

Secondary Dominants

While technically not cadences, or indeed endings, secondary dominant warrant discussion because they rely on the expectation discussed above. One of the simplest ways to anticipate a chord is to use a dominant chord. Below the chords in white all belong to C major, C is chord one, F is chord four, G is chord five, A minor is chord six and G7 is chord five again.

In order to prepare each chord I’ve used the V7 chord from its own key. C7 is chord V in F major (blue), D7 is chord V in G major (pink) and E7 is chord V in A minor. G7 is left white, while it is chord V of C major it’s also diatonic so not technically a secondary dominant.

Dancing Queen by ABBA neatly demonstrates a secondary dominant chord during the chorus. The song is in the key of A major and at 0.19 we hear the lyric “you can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life” over the chords E, C#7, F#m7, B7/D#. The E and F#m fall squarely within A major (V and vi) but the C#7 is used to setup the F#m (as it’s V in the key of F# minor). The B7/D# is a little more complicated – you could see it as V of E but the progression moves to D major (chord IV).

Plagal Cadence

Another type of finished cadence is the plagal cadence. This is chords IV to I. The most familiar usage of this to some people is the “A-men” heard at the end of lots of hymns.

We can also make chord four minor, imaginatively called a minor plagal cadence. This has a very specific sound that has recently become quite popular (possibly due to a certain Jacob Collier and June Lee interview).

Much like how our perfect cadence can be augmented by in the inclusion of the minor seventh on top of the V chord, adding a major sixth on top of our iv chord can add a greater sense of gravity to our cadence (iv6 I). The Ab (minor third of F minor) resolves down to G in C major (purple) and the F (root of F minor) resolves down to the E in C major (yellow).

We can hear both pagal and minor plagal in this (probably a bit of an on-the-nose) example from Hoizer and their song Take me to Church. In the pre-chorus (0.45) we hear a series of “A-mens” alternating between C and G (G being the tonic). On the fourth repetition the chord changes to Cm.

In the last example I’ve written a short two bar progression that uses two non-diatonic chords (the D7 and the Fm). This has a nice upper voice that moves down from the A in D7 and F to the Ab in F minor and finally to the G in C major. Some of inner voices either move down or stay the same giving this turnaround a nice sense of balance. We could analyse this as II7, IV, iv, I. This progression is not dissimilar to The Saddest Chord Progression Ever Written, which contains examples by Willie Nelson, Vasily Kalinnikov, Duke Ellington and Frankie Valli.

If you want to read more about why iv6 to I sounds so compelling you might be interested in reading about negative harmony.

Unfinished Cadences or Half Cadences

I’ve been taught the term unfinished cadences but have since read the Americans call these half cadences. Unfinished cadences don’t finish on the tonic chord. Because of their inconclusive nature they tend to setup new harmonic or melodic material, for example exiting a verse before a chorus or preparing a bridge.

Imperfect Cadence

An imperfect cadence is one that ends on chord V, usually preceded by chord I, ii or IV. To me this is comparable to a comma – musically it’s not completely conclusive but implies there’s something more to be added. Chord functionality is coded into how we perceive chords within a given scale, and chord V (the dominant chord) often want so resolve, normally to the tonic. So ending a musical sentence with it is used to create a sense of expectation.

I am caveating this by saying this is how the harmonic grammar is generally understood and absolutely not objective or absolute.

There’s a great example of this in Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud at 1.07 during the pre-chorus. Ending the pre-chorus on chord V is great technique as the chorus instantly brings the resolution of the tonic. The song is in D major on with the lyric “I just want to tell you I am…” we move through Em to G to A (ii, IV, V).

Interrupted Cadence

The fourth cadence in our traditional cadences list is the interrupted cadence, also known as a deceptive cadence. This is a sequence ending with chord vi in a major key. Interrupted cadences can be compared to a question mark – this move to the minor six is reflective and could be seen to take the music somewhere new. Minor chords are understood to be sombre, morose, sad etc – an interrupted cadence could imply a modulation to the relative minor key.

In Cyndi Lauper’s True Colours we can identify an interrupted cadence at the end of the chorus (1.01) with the lyrics “beautiful like a rainbow”. The chorus ends with alternating F/C to C (IV to I) before a Gsus4 to Am (V to vi). It’s short-lived as the intro material is quickly repeated, but harmonically it has the same emotional impact in preparing verse two.

Turnarounds and Jazz Chord Progressions

Jazz and blues harmony is its own beast and not to be conflated with Western tonal harmony. While many composers such as Duke Ellington, Bill Evans, George Gershwin and Chick Corea, the harmonic semantics of blues and latterly jazz exist outside of classical music. There is some harmonic properties both share, but by the time of the 20th century even many classical composers had began composing outside the rigid boundaries of common practise. You can see rich harmonies in this 1908 Ravel piece.

While it would be possible to identify cadences in turnarounds these are getting a section of their own as they tend not to function like traditional cadences (at least in terms of how a classical musician might think of them) and they are broadly known outside of the topic of cadences, so deserve their own section.

Major and Minor ii V I

The bread and butter of learning jazz standards is the humble ii V I, chords two, five and one in a major scale. By default chord two is minor, five is dominant (major with a minor seventh) and one is of course major. In C major this would be Dm, G, C. It’s typical for jazz musicians to add upper extensions to chord voicings, at least a diatonic seventh (Dm7, G7, Cmaj7). If you’re unfamiliar with sevenths read this.

You can hear a ii V I in Roy Ayres Everybody Loves the Sunshine at 0.25 with Em9, A13, Dmaj9, C#7(#9). You can read more about this song here.

Once you’ve mastered your major ii V Is the next logical step is minor iiø V is (note that chord ii is half diminished in a minor key). Like the secondary dominant, ii V Is can be littered throughout a piece of music simply preparing an upcoming chord, or they can form the basis of the harmonic form.

The voicings can be extended beyond sevenths, below I’ve written out a major ii V I in C and a minor ii V i in C minor. The D minor adds the seventh and ninth degrees. Dropping the C in D minor 9 down to B and changing the bass note gives way to a G13 (G7 with added 6th), which resolves to the Cmaj9. In the minor ii V i I’ve added a b9 (Ab) to our dominant G7 chord which adds even more tensions before resolving to the Cm9.

One property of jazz lingua franca is tonic chords rarely exist as an islands without upper extensions. In this example we’ve added the major seventh and ninth to the tonic. In a classical paradigm this would severely weaken the V to I resolution, but in jazz this is common-place. It’s important to realise that neither one of these is correct or incorrect, they are just stylistic norms.

The standard Softly as a Morning Sunrise starts with a i iiø7 V7 i in C minor. Here’s Sonny Clark playing it. The head starts at 0.03:

Tritone Substitution

One way to spruce up a simple ii V I is by using a tritone substitution for the V chord. A tritone is an interval three tones away. If we stick we our ii V I in C major, the G7 would be replaced by a Db7 chord. I’ve kept the upper voicing of the G13 from the previous example (green) and replaced the bass note from G to Db. Each note now has a new colouration compared to the root.

B natural was the major third in G and is now the minor seventh of Db. E natural was the thirteenth and is now a raised ninth, F was the minor seventh and is now the major third and the top A was the ninth and is now an augmented fifth. All of these alterations are derived from the altered scale.

One Note Samba uses a chromatic descending bass-line that moves down through several ii V chords but using tritone substitutions in their place, in D minor we’d have Dm7, Db7, Cm7, B7(b5):

Backdoor Substitution

There are other ways to arrive at chord I and one of those is using what is sometimes known as a backdoor substitution. This is going via chord iv, but treating that as it was ii of a different key. The pink highlights the Fm7 to Bb7 – normally understood to be ii V in Eb major, but the resolution to C recontextualised them as iv bVII7 (minor four, flat seven dominant).

Stevie Wonder’s Lately is a hugely interesting song from a harmonic point of view, with all sorts of modulations and borrowed chords. In the outro of song starting at 3.57 we hear the intro material (originally in Db major) repeated in the newly modulated key of Gb major. We hear Abm7 Db7 and naturally our ear expects the Gbmaj7 that has been setup with earlier repetitions of this sequence, but Stevie instead chooses to resolve on Ebmaj7, a major sixth up from Gb. This has a really lush, warm sound to it.

I, VI7, ii, V and the Tadd Dameron Turnaround

By far the most common turn around you will come across is the I IV7 II V and various iterations of this. Chord IV7 could easily be swapped for vi or some diminished chord build on scale degree bII. Equally chord II could be swapped for ii or a tritone dominant chord. An example in C major would be C, A7, D7, G7. The A7, Dm7, G7 and back to C is four concurrent steps on a circle of fourths.

During the head of I Got Rhythm we can hear a I VI7 II V turn around 0.39, however blink and you’ll miss it, it’s two chords per bar and uptempo:

One of my favourite turnarounds is the Tadd Dameron Turnaround. This is a modification of the above I VI II V but using major seventh tritone substitutions for the VI, II and V. The above example in C major would look like Cmaj7, Ebmaj7, Abmaj7, Dbmaj7, although dominant and minor seventh chord would work fine too. The Eb, Ab and Db is three concurrent steps on the circle of fourths.

Tadd Dameron was the pianist on Fats Navarro’s recording of Lady Bird, the standard that this turnaround is more closely associated with, although it can be heard in Miles Davis’ recording of Half Nelson and John Carisi’s version of Israel.

Miscellaneous Endings

A bit like turnarounds, these endings are deserving of their own section. It would be argued they’re a little like turnarounds but turnaround tend to have a cyclical property, where as some of these have a more definite ending quality.

IV, I/III, ii, I and I7, Iø7, iiø/I, I

I have no idea to the origins of these cliches but they have become part of the woodwork of 20th century pop/blues endings. IV I/III ii I relies on a descending bass-line (F, E, D, C in C major) in opposition to the station top note (highlighted in turquoise). If we played these chords in root position the harmonic directionality would be lost.

Lou Reed’s Perfect Day has a good example of this turnaround in the piano part during the “you’re going to reap just what you sow” section, starting at 2.42. We’re in the key of Bb major and hear a eighth note-per-chord Eb, Bb/D, F/C before looping back to Bb. Here the F/C is in place of Cm (chord ii in Bb) but they function very similarly.

I7, iø7, iiø7/II, I is a clunky chord progression to describe using roman numerals, and goes someway towards demonstrating where common practise harmonic analysis can struggle with modern chordal language. There are a number of observations you can make about this, but it’s important to know a few things: diminished chords like to resolve. Looking at the upper structure of the Dø7 (F, Ab, D) it’s not dissimilar to the Fm6 in our plagal cadence example nor is it unlike the G7(b13) in the minor ii V i. Labels we ascribe to chords are just simplifications to aid sight reading and understanding, when all they are is a collection of notes that either resolve or don’t.

Like previous examples our second progression as a top line that descends (E, Eb, D, C) which is satisfying when we land in the tonic. The C7 at the front implied V of F major, but the Cø7 (VII of Db) seems to dispel that. There are a number of ways of trying to understand this but most satisfying to me is the voice leading all gravitates towards the C, like some-sort of tonal entropy. We can hear this as the basis of the cycle in this Duke Ellington song starting at 0.27.

bVI, bVII, I

This is a series of major chord ascending by tone. Most people who hear it might associate it with the Final Fantasy fight scene fanfare, and I’ve notated an example similar to that. If we resolved on minor one (C minor) this would be a typical progression in a minor key (Tangerine Dream’s Love On A Real Train for example), but the ending on the major chord implies modal mixture – a techniques used to seamlessly move between two modes, mostly the ionian (major) and aoelian (minor).

Here’s the victory fanfare from Final Fantasy VII, composed by Nobuo Uematsu:

Andalusian Cadence

While this has cadence in the name it has been seen in the wild as a chord progression in its own right. The progression is iv, III, bII, I, so in C major this would be Fm, Eb, Db, C. Many examples we’ve looked at so far lean heavily on the major and minor scale. This example uses the phrygian mode, more specifically the phrygian dominant scale – the fifth mode of the harmonic minor. The Db resolving to C (or C7 for extra flavour) is the key to this.

It would be perfectly normal to think about the Andalusian cadence as i-bVII-bVI-V, with the Fm being the tonic in this example. Like many of this cycles, the perceived “home” would differ from example to example and be heavily led by the melody and other rhythmic properties. In Hit the Road Jack by Ray Charles it’s clear the last chord (E7) is functioning as a V:

Historical Terms

Here are a few anachronisms that are interesting enough to include but don’t come up often in modern musical analysis. There are far more that could be squashed into this section but this post is getting exhaustive already and these seem to the ones I see come up more often.

Picardy Third

A Picardy third or tierce de Picardie is ending a sequence or passage that’s in minor with a major tonic chord. To my ears this has a particularly medieval courtyard sound to it. When looking at the Blade Runner OST, Rachel’s Song used a Picard third, a sequence starting in D minor resolving on D major. The example I’ve created is made up just to exemplify the technique.

Neapolitan Chords

Another chromatic alteration that sometimes appears in the common practise period is the Neapolitan chord. This specifically refers to bII, normally in first inversion (Db/F in the example of C) but is used to prepare a dominant chord when resolving.

*The Neapolitan Sixth chord ordinarily appears in minor keys, but I like the sound resolving to a major.*

Lionel Richie’s Hello uses both a Picardy third (3.14) and a Neapolitan chord, the latter coming during the chorus (1.11). The song is in A minor and during the chorus there’s a distinct Bb chord heard on the lyrics “but let me start by saying…” that prepares an Esus4 and E (chord V) before resolving to Am. The Picardy third happens after the instrumental break, the chords go from Am, Am/G, F to A major, giving a far more optimistic outlook.

You can read more about this song here on Rebel Music Teacher’s blog.

Augmented Sixth Chords

Augmented sixth chords fall into three categories, Italian, French and German. While I wont get in to the stereotypes and politics of why these chords are so called, they can sound interesting. An augmented six chord describes the the first chord in each sequence but also how the voices lead to chord V.

The Italian Sixth is the notes Bb, C and F#, with the Bb resolving down to the G in chord V (green), the F# resolving up to another G (purple). If we were writing SATB or other four-part counterpoint, the C would be doubled, one resolving up to D and the other down to B.

The French Sixth is the same but instead of doubling the C it adds a D, which remains when moving to chord V. The other voices all stay the same in their movement.

Lastly the German Sixth is typically used in minor keys. Rather than going straight to chord V it tends to go via chord I in second inversion (fifth in the bass) in order to avoid parallel voices, something to avoid in counterpoint writing.